Volunteerism has always been at the heart of SSVMS, and we have many ways to get involved in supporting the practice of medicine that can fit with your interests and the time you have available.
You can make a big difference in shaping policy just by taking a few minutes of your time to perform Calls to Action. Several times per year, we request that you submit your experiences related to a piece of legislation or a pending regulation so that policymakers can consider what ramifications it will have. These actions typically take two to three minutes to complete and can have a significant impact on how government regulates health care.
In April, CMA will be hosting its annual Legislative Advocacy Day. Hundreds of physicians from around the state will descend upon the Capitol to discuss bills that are important to our profession. These personal visits not only affect the legislation, but they also help us create stronger relationships with legislators and be a future resource for them. For more information, click here.
We encourage you to join SSVMS committees, such as the Public and Environmental Health Committee to shape our positions on health policy or the Editorial Committee to help develop content for this magazine. You can also apply to join the District XI delegation to CMA’s House of Delegates, which is where physicians from across the state come together to formalize the positions that CMA will pursue. If you see the need for a bill or regulation, you can submit a policy resolution to CMA for consideration by its committees. For more information on District XI or other CMA matters, contact Chris Stincelli at cstincelli@ssvms.org.
If you enjoy working with the youth of today who will become the health professionals of tomorrow, the Future of Medicine program wants to speak with you. This program works with local high school students to demonstrate potential career paths in health care and connect them with various physicians from different specialties and career stages. Future of Medicine has openings for guest speakers, job-shadowing hosts, and many other opportunities. To discuss how you can help develop the next generation of physicians or for more information about the program, contact Sam Mello-Edwards at smello@ssvms.org.
You can make an immediate and major impact through the SPIRIT program, which makes a difference every day by providing donated specialty care to our region’s uninsured. In 2023, SPIRIT successfully coordinated 91 surgeries that ranged from cataracts to hernia repair and provided 478 hours of donated care to at-risk members of our community. To learn more about how you can help, contact Adriana Aguilar at aaguilar@ssvms.org.
If creativity is your escape, we have opportunities there as well. The Med Poets Society meets quarterly to share their poetry, and some of those pieces are then shared here in SSV Medicine. We’re always also looking for stunning photos from our members and interesting articles on anything from practice advice to once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you want to share with your colleagues. To learn more about the Med Poet’s Society, contact Sam Mello-Edwards at smello@ssvms.org and if you want to find out how to submit your work to our magazine, contact Brandon J. Craig at bcraig@ssvms.org.
These are just some of the many ways to get involved with SSVMS and CMA to support the practice of medicine, our physician members and the community. Please take advantage of as many as you can!
Email Aileen Wetzel
